It has been 20 years after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
